Instead of charging the usual $15, Walmart will charge $5 upfront and refund customers who pay their purchase in full with a $5 Walmart gift card.

That's not all they're changing. The usual 60-day repayment deadline will be extended to 90 days this year, and they've also ditched their $10 cancellation fee.

"This is a direct response to feedback we received since announcing this year's Holiday Layaway program," a company spokesperson said.

A little competition might have something to do with it as well. This is only Round 1 of the holiday season retail war, but if we had to pick a winner, we'd say it was Walmart.

Toys "R" Us' is ditching its upfront fees, but there's a catch: Customers will still pay a 20 percent downpayment and the promotion only applies to purchases made before Oct. 31. A $5 fee will be charged upfront after that date.

From then, customers have just 45 days to pay half the total balance and the full purchase must be paid by Dec. 16.